


Number Eight; The Forgotten

by Flamin_Sam



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drug Addiction, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, No Incest, Non-Binary Klaus Hargreeves, Not Canon Compliant, OC, Original Character - Freeform, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Self Insert, Self-Indulgent, bc fuck reginald, better luther hargreeves, i hate that i have to tag that, if u ship any incest i will personally curb stomp u, im fixing him, mentioned transphobia, no beta we die like ben, whump??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:02:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23896525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamin_Sam/pseuds/Flamin_Sam
Summary: Number Eight, The Forgotten.Powers: Turn physical form invisible at will for long durations of time, along with other items that can only last for small increments of time.Behaviour: Number Eight seems to not take any of my training seriously, despite my numerous punishments for slacking off she continues to treat her powers as nothing but a “cool trick” to mess with her siblings. Number Eight still fights me about wearing the skirt as part of her uniform and her insistence of her “not being a girl” are getting ridiculous and will be worked on as soon as possible.Night activity: Number Eight seems to not sleep very well, only pretending to sleep at night with only 1 or 2 hours of real sleep. She denies this completely when I address it, but the punishments seem not to work. I’m not quite sure what to do with this one…
Comments: 7
Kudos: 48





	1. We only ever see each other when our abusive father finally dies

**Author's Note:**

> HI so i havent posted in a while, heres a shitty old self insert fic that ive edited. dont expect regular or for it to be finished im very sorry :(

_ Number Eight, The Forgotten. _

_ Powers: Turn physical form invisible at will for prolonged periods of time, along with the ability to make other items invisible held or in physical contact, but can only last for small increments of time at the current moment. _

_ Behaviour: Number Eight seems to not take any of my training seriously, despite my numerous punishments for slacking off she continues to treat her powers as nothing but a “cool trick” to mess with her siblings. Number Eight still fights me about wearing the skirt as part of her uniform and her insistence of her “not being a girl” are getting ridiculous and will be worked on as soon as possible. _

_ Night activity: Number Eight seems to not sleep very well, only pretending to sleep at night with only 1 or 2 hours of real sleep. She denies this completely when I address it, but the punishments seem not to work. I’m not quite sure what to do with this one… _

  
  


_ \-- _

  
  


The first to go had been little number Eight, Jay. They got the least fancy memorial, as Sir Reginald thought it ridiculous to miss the most disappointing of his children. They’d had a power so useful, yet they refused to take training seriously, he wasn’t surprised when they left. They got a potted rose, their favourite flower, left in their abandoned room. Grace always watered it, kept it alive throughout the years that they’d been gone, keeping their memory alive along with it.

The second to leave was number Five, he’d gotten a portrait since he was slightly less of a disappointment then number Eight had been. He was smart, too smart for his own good in Reginalds opinion. He had a snark and attitude that despite how many times he got punished for it, he never wavered. He wasn’t a big loss in their father's eyes either.

The third to go was Ben, he didn’t leave voluntarily. He was sweet, kind, and shy. It was hard to see him fight the figurative and literal demons he had, and the loss of Number Six was the straw that broke apart the family, it was the string that made everything fall apart. He got to be a statue and buried 6 feet under.

They were reduced down to five siblings left, all pretending to have moved on from their missing siblings. None of them really did. 

Not until the day their dear ol’ bastard of a father finally kicked the bucket.

\--

  
  


_ It’s raining, the droplets hitting harshly against the raw skin and stinging wounds as a child, no older than 11, with a frail, thin frame shaking in the wind. The child’s bright white hair and pale, almost translucent, skin stuck out against the dark, dreary night. The child was walking, no destination. No home.  _

_ They stepped in a puddle and tripped, landing face first into the dirty water, but they didn’t get up. They stayed there, shaking and sobbing quietly as the world around was completely oblivious. _

_ They could hear laughter of families over supper, screaming babies and parents trying their best to calm them down with soothing words, all things the child never had, and never will. The sounds were getting so loud, the noise overwhelming as they felt like they were drowning, drowning in their own tears and blood and pain.  _

_ They stayed there for a long time until eventually getting up, soaked to the bone, bright red eyes looking ahead. Full of pain but so, so dull and empty. _

_ The child continued on, their world slowly fading around them as they continued walking, no destination, no home. _

  
  


\--

  
  


They’d all heard the news, hell, you’d have to be living under the worlds biggest rock if you didn’t know about the most eccentric billionaires death being reported on every media outlet known to man. All the Hargreeves siblings reunited to see if he was really dead, along to attend his funeral. Some though, had a different plan.

Vanya walked into the mansion, the looming and fear inducing presence of Hargreeves' still present despite his death. She shivered, the entrance feeling just as cold as the atmosphere it radiated, looking back to the door while mentally debating if this was a good idea.

“Would you look at that.” said a familiar voice from behind her, making Vanya jump and shift her gaze to the source. 

“Everyone was, like, taking bets on if you’d come or not” Allison said, revealing herself and smiling softly but awkwardly at her sister. She walked up to give a heartfelt, but extremely awkward hug to Vanya, who was just as robotic and clunky in the hug. They quickly pulled away and shuffled away from each other, tension thick enough to slice with a knife as the silence filled the massive entrance.

“Is uh, is Jay…?” Vanya didn’t need to finish the sentence, she knew the answer right as Allison's face fell and eyes water slightly as she shook her head. Vanya felt herself deflate, she knew it was unlikely, no one had seen Jay for so long, and specially after what she wrote about them in her book-

“Why would you give a damn, you shit all over them just like you did the rest of us” came an angry, bitter voice that Vanya didn’t need to look up to identify the source.

Diego walked down the big staircase to his two sisters, glaring daggers at the younger of the two.

“Oh fuck off Diego, are you really going to do this now?” said the older sister, brows furring as she crosses her arms to glare at Diego. Vanya knew exactly where this would be going, so she split off as soon as the two were too heated in argument to notice that the subject of said argument sneaked past and headed upstairs, taking out her bottle of pills to swallow a couple.

\--

  
  


Vanya was in front of the room before she knew it, gently opening the door and walking up to the rose placed on the nightstand next to the bed. It was still as beautiful as the first day they’d had it, ‘mom must've been taking good care of it while we were all gone’. She just looked at it, touching the petals lightly and looked around the room.

It was the same size and base as everyone else’s room, but just like the rest of them, Jay had personalized their room to the point it was clearly theirs. Posters of famous paintings and more modern art littered the walls, colour from the paint barely peeking through the small gaps of uncovered walls. The bed sheets were stained with various paints, the tubes of which were organised on their old desk (Grace must’ve done that, Jay was always messy and never kept their room clean) along with many unfinished sketches and pieces. 

Vanya had always found it weird that Jay would leave without their art supplies, they always found ways to hide a sketchbook and pen in their uniform until Reginald found out. She looked over the unfinished pieces. They weren't incredible, but showed so much potential at such a young age. Vanya wonders if wherever their sibling went, if they were even alive, they still did art.

She eventually moved over to the rose again, eyes lowering to the little piece of card stock at the stem. ‘ _ Loved, but not forgotten _ ’ it wrote, making Vanya chuckle darkly. It was ironic, really. 

She eventually took a deep breathe, gently caressing the flower and in a wobbly, broken voice whispered:

“I’m sorry… I-I hope you’re okay. I love you..”

Vanya scrubbed at her eyes, forcing the tears to not fall before exiting the room.

What she didn’t know was that the person she was thinking of was right there, just invisible. Forgotten.


	2. accusing each other of murder then vibing to music is one of the most accurate portrayal of siblings ive ever seen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay thought they’d be able to handle seeing everyone.
> 
> They weren’t.

Jay thought they’d be able to handle seeing everyone.

They weren’t.

The moment Vanya had entered the room Jay felt their heart stop and body freeze as they unintentionally activated their powers.

They had decided to come when the news broke, but to not announce it. They knew their siblings would be coming together, and god if Jay didn’t miss them. They so badly wanted to go up to all their siblings and hug them and tell them everything. They just wanted to be there with them, pretend they haven’t been gone since they were all 11.

But they can’t. 

Jay took a moment to take in their sister's appearance, her hair is slightly shorter now, her eyes look dull and pained with bags that came from more than one night of bad sleep, her face is slightly gaunt and she looks like she hasn't smiled in 20 years. Her stature was small, Jay only towering over her by a few inches, buried in a giant sweater. They smiled slightly at that, it made her look even smaller.

They watched as she walked around the room, a small but sad smile gracing her face that made Jay's heart clench. They moved out of the way and she went around, trying their best not to give away their presence. 

They were used to it.

Eventually, Vanya stopped in front of the rose again. Jay just barely hears what she whispers and stills. Unmoving until Vanya left the room.

When she left, the dam broke. Tears poured down Jay's face in streams, their body shaking and materializing as they held themselves. It hurt. It hurt more than anything Reginald ever did or ever could do. It hurt so,  _ so  _ much it felt like they would pass out.

They took a deep, shaky breath, and followed Vanya out. Drifting behind their sister like a ghost.

\--

Jay tuned out most of the meeting after Luthur started going about how Hargreeves died, they really didn’t care. The old man died, way too late in Jay's opinion, and that's it. Luthur always seemed to be the only one who didn’t see how shitty their father really was and it honestly made Jay sad for their older brother. 

He seemed to rather stay in denial then admit the truth of what happened, which seems to be a trend with their siblings overall, themselves included. While the rest would be in denial in how it affected them, Luther fully was in denial that it happened at all.  So many times sometimes Jay wished they could have helped, maybe make him realise and make the team a family. They never got to do that.

They stayed in thought, mind somewhere else and stuck in ‘what could've been when one sentence brought them back to reality.

“You think one of us did it.”

\--

The house was still tense after the less than successful family meeting, it was dead quiet. Until it wasn't.

_ Children behave, that's what they say when we're together _

Jay had been sitting on the floor as they began to hear the music. They started softly chuckling, remembering Luthur’s old record player. That song had always been one the entire team could agree was, as Klaus liked to call it, a ‘banger’. They slowly got up and wiped off the dust from their pants, softly swaying from foot to foot.

_ Running just as fast as we can, holding on to one another hands _

They began giggling, letting their feet move to the music. Jay had never been a good dancer, but they couldn’t help themselves. 

_ Trying to get away into the night and then you put your arms around me _

_ And we tumble to the ground and then you say _

What they were blind to, was that all of their siblings were also dancing along. A moment of harmony in a house so full of pain.

_ I think we’re alo- _

\--

If Jay was being completely honest, they’d stop paying attention as to what was happening when Five started explaining what had happened when he was gone. They heard time travel and didn’t feel like trying to understand. They just couldn’t believe he was alive, let alone with them right now.

They watched from the sidelines, powers activated of course. Jay didn’t feel like ruining the moment they all had with Five. 

So, stay invisible it was.

He had looked the same as the last time Jay saw him, but he carried himself differently. He always was cocky and didn’t try to hide that he thought himself as smarter than the rest of them (which, admittedly, he was for the most part) but he seemed that now he held more an air of old, battleworn wisdom of an older man than an overly-confident preteen.

  
  


Soon, it divulged into a fight, because it always fucking did. Jay simply left once conflict started. They’d learnt that with them, the fights can’t be stopped unless someone was severely injured or dead, and Jay would rather avoid that right now.

Jay wandered the house whilst invisible for a while, taking a good look at all the things that have and haven’t changed since they last got the chance to be there. There were a couple nicks in the wood, obviously from Diego's habit of throwing his knives to ‘assert dominance’ or whatever. 

Eventually, they walked up to where the paintings were, they’d always loved looking at them with Grace as she told Jay about the history of all the paintings. God, they missed her so much.

They wanted so desperately to hold their mother, to cry into her shoulders and have her make them her amazing food, but that wasn’t an option for Jay. They simply sighed sadly and walked away, not noticing that behind them was a smiling Grace, eyes on Jays movements, unseen to the human eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello im gonna real quickly sOB THANK U ALL SM FOR UR COMMENTS AND KUDOS??? LIKE YALL DIDNT HAVE TO BUT U DID THAT AND I STAN but yeah i have a lot of the story pre written and im trying to update it in my docs regularly and to update it here like once a week for a lil bit but no promises (im kinda stuck on one part so yeah). but yeah hope youre all doing well and safe rn! i buzzed my head and dyed it so now i look like a well used tennis ball so i feel like that shows where i am but stay safe and i love u all!!!


	3. making jay suffer even more, the chapter i fuck things up (even moreso)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay sometimes wondered if they were a ghost, but even Klaus could see those, so what were they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heLLO this is slightly late but yeah!! im starting to get to parts where im not so happy with whats already written so the next few updates will take longer since im gonna be editing more

_ Jay sometimes wondered if they were a ghost, but even Klaus could see those, so what were they? They didn’t know. They aimlessly lived on the sidelines for a few years, watching from afar and staying invisible to avoid detection. _

_ They watched as Vanya closed herself more and more as the others treated her worse and worse, their heart squeezing and fist clenching at how, how could they just ignore her? Could they not see how much she was suffering too?  _

_ They saw the hidden nightmares and breakdowns Klaus had, and how he’d just remedy it with drugs since everyone else thought he was just seeking attention. They saw later on how Klaus tried so hard to summon Five, to summon them. _

_ They saw Diego, forced underwater for inhumane amounts of time for some fucked up testing. Saw him cry himself to sleep, beat himself up over his stutter and lash out against everyone. _

_ They saw how Allison would cry when looking in the mirror, not knowing who she is after all her rumouring.  _

_ They saw Luthur torture himself to impress their father. _

_ They saw Five run away. _

_ They saw Ben suffer and die. _

_ It hurt Jay to see them like this, to not be able to do anything without making things worse. They wanted to so, so badly, but Reginald always kept his promises, and that was more than enough  _

_ to make Jay stay away. _

_ Invisible. _

_ They left one by one, Klaus left first (soon after Ben’s death), it took a week before anyone noticed. Next was Vanya and Diego, they left at the same time coincidentally. Then Allison, she’d been less subtle about it then the other three, she was thrown a tiny goodbye party by Luthur, they’d always been close. _

_ And then, it was just Luthur. By this point, Jay had a job out of state, had an apartment and was saving up for therapist appointments because they could tell how fucked up they were and how in need of help not only they, but all their siblings were in need of.  _

_ Then Vanya’s book came out. _

\--

It wasn’t even five minutes into the funeral before Diego and Luthur started fighting. Jay looked on, right in front of everyone with their umbrella invisible with them, it was hard seeing them fight, but the calls of Klaus encouraging it did make them chuckle silently.

They noticed Five begin to walk away, mumbling under his breath how he didn’t have time for this and honestly, Jay understood and was tempted to walk away too. Ben’s statue was soon knocked over and all they could do was shake their head, did these two idiots think through anything? They thought back to when Ben died, how they couldn't even go to the funeral, remembering to pay respects at the now destroyed tomb of their brother.

Jay had not been paying much attention, but then they noticed Diego reach for one of his knives, and _that_ was going too far. They heard Allison start calling out to stop too, but they couldn’t help what came out of their mouth.

“Diego stop!”

Everyone froze, eyes turned to where Jay was despite having their powers activated. There was no way out of this now. 

They sighed as they took off the illusion, revealing themselves, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Their hair and skin so pale it was striking against the dreary setting. Jay’s body swayed from side to side, body barely able to keep them up with being skin and bones. They subconsciously rubbed the nape of their neck, looking towards the ground. Jay was always the shortest (other than Vanya), but seeing all the eyes on them at the moment made them feel the smallest they’ve felt in years, resigning themselves, they finally looked up to meet the faces of their siblings.

Luthur looked upset and confused, Diego, pissed but relieved, Allison looked like she’d seen a ghost, Klaus kept looking back and forth at them and the empty space next to him and Vanya… Vanya looked like she was on the brink of tears, hand covering her mouth as she trembled like a leaf.

“Nice to see that nothing changed around here, even after 19 years”

Jay walked past them and into the mansion, tired and exhausted and, honestly? Could really go for a cup of tea right now. They rummage through the cupboard to see that the old bastard still hated caffiene into his more senile years too. They sighed and decided to settle for some water, hopping on the counter as they nurse the mug they’d chosen.

Sadly, good things never last and immediately Jay felt a hand grab their collar and began dragging them, causing all their water to fall over them, but they didn’t care about that right now. Right now, they are busy completely panicking and feeling bile climb up their throat as memories start to invade their brain. It takes a minute for them to realise they’re on a couch and have multiple arms around them in a huge hug. Jay melts into it, the physical contact feels nice. It was something they haven’t had in a very long time, so they cherished it.

They stayed like this for a while, but all too soon for Jay the group hug ended and began to question them non stop; 

‘ _ where did you go?’ ‘why did you leave?’ ‘can you give me that twenty bucks you owed me now?’ ‘why why why why why whywhywhywhywhy-’ _

And Jay, well, Jay just didn’t know how to answer them. They felt trapped, overwhelmed. They snapped.

“Listen! I just- I can't tell you guys, just deal with it!” They yelled while pushing everyone back, eyes tearful as they saw their siblings look back in shock and frustration. However, before anyone could speak, Jay activated their powers and stormed out, ignoring the cries and pleas from behind them.

\--

_ At this point in Jay’s life, they were able to afford the occasional extra expense so when Vanya’s book came out, they’d immediately bought a copy and read the entire thing in one night. Reading it felt both nostalgic and painful for Jay, knowing what had happened to their only family after they’d been beaten and disowned. _

_ But the emotion they felt the most was anger, anger towards Vanya for exposing them like this. Vanya had framed Jay’s disappearance as if they’d left by choice, and how they must’ve not cared about the family for never even checking in on them in their adult lives, believing that their father had no more influence on them and their choices. _

_ Jay wanted to yell, to scream and cry and collapse on the floor, but all they could do was lay down and curl in on themselves and they allowed thoughts of pain and suffering enter their brain. They laid there for a long time, only moving once they received notifications from angry commissioners about having not received their art on time. So Jay began to work again, burying themselves in it and barely leaving room to eat or sleep. Soon enough, Jay felt nothing at all. _

_ Time passed by with a blur, so it felt like one day Jay was drawing and the next they were in a hospital bed, finally feeling something, regret. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi thanks for finishing the fic!!!!! i wanted to include some art ive drawn of the reveal scene but im still very next to ao3 posting so ill eventually post it to tumblr and for now ill link the lil gif of jay i made and posted over there if ur interested >:3 (heads up i am primarily an illustrator so the gif will probably be way better than anything ive written haha) 
> 
> https://atesomerocks.tumblr.com/post/618379742547230720/have-this-bastard-child

**Author's Note:**

> fyi klaus uses any and all pronouns but is openly nb in this story while the oc uses strictly they/them. and also my titles for chapters arent gonna be very serious bc im a shitpost


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